April 22, 2012

[life is freakin good]

today was a good day.

this was a good weekend.

life is good, isn't it?

God really has been blessing me lately.. or maybe He has turned my eyes into seeing the good in everything? I think it is a combination of both. One of my favorite preachers to listen to, Rodney Hobbs, is from Stonegate Church in Midlothian, Texas. One of the first podcasts I listened to from Rodney covered Ephesians 1:15-23. In these verses, Paul is telling the Ephesians that he has been praying for them - I love when people tell me that they're praying for me; it's usually when I'm undergoing some stress or having a fight with a friend or family member or something along those lines. My favorite prayers are those wonderful unexpected ones.. those ones that aren't particularly for any special purpose. Look at what Paul tells the Ephesians:

"..Ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ.. may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe."

Paul prays that the Ephesians would be filled with God's revelation - that they would see God more clearly - that they would know Him better, for Paul knows that as one begins to know God better and see God clearly, life is good.

No, life is great.

Rodney talked about two prayers he prays consistently:
1. For an expanded view of God
2. For a greater love for people

For some reason, these two "basic" prayers clicked with me. I wrote them in dry erase marker on my closet mirror (real middle school, Laura.. I know).

But really..

Just think about what would happen if you grew in these two areas. Your whole world would change. First of all, learning about God truly is one of my favorite things.. and my favorite part about the learning process is that I can never know enough about God. Isn't it cool that even though God is completely constant, I learn more about him on a daily basis? Take, for example, my computer mapping class (ArcGIS is becoming my new BFF). There's going to be a time when I learn all that I can about it. It's a finite computer program (with boring qualities and characteristics, might I add). Yes, they will probably come out with a new version, but with a few clicks of the mouse, I've found all there is to know. That's not how it is with the Creator of the universe, the lover of your soul - God is a mystery, and that's the way I like it.

A greater love for people. For some reason, I used to think that I was really good at loving people.. I was a tad bit off - don't get me wrong, I still see loving people as one of my better qualities, BUT I've transformed the way I do it. Along the way, I've learned that there is a better way of loving. It involves coming and meeting people where they are. It involves telling them about the greatest possible love they could ever come to know - JESUS. What if that became your top priority? What if you didn't care what people thought of you? What if you focused on ways you could help others out of the genuineness of your heart rather than feeling as though you should "do the right thing?" It's possible.. with prayer.

ANYWAY, on a lighter and unrelated note, I hosted my first bridal shower this weekend - for my beautiful freshman year roommate. I've started realizing something more and more about myself this year, and it freakin freaks me out. If you're my close friend, you know that I've recently become somewhat obsessed with.. homemaking. I'm extremely lame, I know - I'm perfectly capable of admitting it.. and owning it.

Hi, my name is Laura. I enjoy decorating, baking, and reading Southern Living.

So, today was a glorious day for me.








Wishing you a restful rest of the night and a superb, sunny week!